Another First for The Eyes

After almost two years I finally hooked up with Phil, to do a little fishing today. Between being so busy and the Covid, we never could sync our dates. He brought along his son Levi as he was on a study break and had some time to spare. We were going to attempt a mixed bag day, beginning with the beasts!

I headed to the usual area and was pleasantly surprised to see only one other boat around. I had skipped fishing them over the holiday weekend due to the insane amount of boats all clustered together. Not only does this make it difficult to get bit, but the fish tend to scatter and leave the area completely, with all that pressure. Today we had the place to ourselves!

I set everything up and searched for a few marks with the sonar. It didn’t take long before we had the lines in and were bit. I set into a good fish and immediately passed the rod to Levi. We were officially locked up! He fought the fish well and within minutes it rocketed into the air for us to see. Although not a giant, it was definitely quality and he was about to have a great battle.

Within ten minutes and after several powerful runs, I was able to net the fish and the fight was over. Holding it for the pics was a different story however as Levi bear hugged it in order to get a handle on his grip. They are slippery devils! It was returned afterwards and we reset the lines to attempt another one.

I had been marking fish while anchored in the area so there was no need to move just yet. Shortly after we had another hit and Phil reeled in a small sturgeon that was tossed back as fast as it arrived. Another small juvenile after, for Phil again and I was contemplating a move. I was glad that it was only a thought because soon after I set into even more weight. Levi began his battle with a larger fish this time! This one took to the air in under a minute and we could see quickly that it was thicker than the previous one. It also fought much better too with strong runs and another breach close to the boat, 5 minutes in. It took at least 10 minutes for him to bring the fish up for me to be able to net and the battle was done. Pics and a release followed and we reset the lines hoping for one even bigger!

The gobies were exceptionally annoying this morning and I had to move several times before receiving another legit bite. Unfortunately it was a small fish and Levi reeled it in quickly, after having battled the two big ones. I decided to continue my search with an unsuccessful attempt at locating bigger marks. I finally decided to pull the plug and change to another species. We were going for bass instead!

Although I didn’t mark too many fish on the bottom in deep water, Phil was able to connect with a decent smallie on one of the reefs. We covered it thoroughly and despite seeing a few more fish, we never got bit again. I relocated to another spot and similar results were had. Time for a long run with very little time remaining in the day!

I stopped on another deeper place and decided to drift it vertically. Phil once again hooked up first and managed to bring in a two pound smallie. Levi countered with a good keeper and apparently his first walleye ever. He continued to catch more walleye from this area along with his father and several were sent to the tank for them tonight. With each drift there were fish caught and the time lapsed by quickly. Before we knew it, we were done and they had put a solid limit of walleye in the boat.

Today was a great day of mixed fish with some quality sturgeon landed by Levi. The bonus was all the fish caught in the last hour of the day and Levi’s first Walter. He would be getting a crash course in cleaning walleye by his dad tonight. He would also be having a firsthand look at how they tasted, but I’m sure it won’t be his last. Overall, another great day for fishing!!